Pyrophoric cigar and cigarette lighter



`Marizh 6, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 25, 1948 Z 0 52 9 7 00 0 LW/ 223; j w f y, |||||||..l||||l||l E N l y ,Mdm 2 1 \\E., L@ E u 7 2 8Z ,o Z u Mu M Q n T T wm 4 01J f r .,.....H,. Z.

March 6, 1951 J. R. BAYsToN PYRoPHoRTc CIGAR AND CIGARETTE LIGHTER 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 25, 1948 Patented Mar. 6, 1951 OFFICEPYROPHORIC CIGAR AND CIGARETTE Y LIGHTER John R. Bayston, Van Nuys,Calif. Applicationrebruary 25, 1948, serial No. 10,597

In lighters prior `to the present invention, the

sparking mechanism and abrasive elements have 4been so mounted upon thecasing that when one of vthese parts becomes defective it has entailedconsiderable trouble to secure repairs for the same. Thishas caused manyVlighters to be discarded when, if they could have been readily andquickly repaired their use would have been satisfactorilyrcontinued.vInl the present invention the sparking mechanism is so mounted upon a`closure for` the casing that when desired K the sparking, mechanism maybe removed as a unit and when desired a new one, obtainable' from asupply store or duplicates on hand, may be quickly and easily applied inoperative position. Also gin the present construction a fuel tube,,cartridge or container, obtainable at drugstores or the like, may ,beeasily attachedwwithin the casing and when exhausted havea new onesubstituted therefor. Y. y p

Among the objects of my invention are: to pro- ;vide a novellandimprovedlighter of the tYDQIelferred to ;v to provide a lighter havinga sparkingJmechanism removable as a unit; to provide novel 4means for detachably.mounting a fuel container,

tube or cartridge within the casing and easily removable when exhausted;to provide novel means for mounting and holding thecover hood inposition on the casing; toprovide novel means in the cover hoodforautomatically operating the spark- ,ing mechanism when the cover isbeing moved .to open positiOIl; to provide a snuffing cap in the meansfor operating the sparking mechanism;

lto provide a sparking mechanism having a rotatable cylindrical flint,and a resiliently mounted abrasive element yieldably urged yinto scrap-.ing contact'with the rotatable int; to provide aI novel over-runningclutch for positively rotating the fiint member in one direction ofcover open- .ing and leave the flint member stationarywhen :the cover isbeing closed; to provide a generally ,improved lighter construction; andsuch further objects, advantages and capabilities, inherently possessedby my invention, as will later more fully appear.

. My invention further'resides in the combination, .construction andarrangement of parts illustratedv. in the accompanying drawings, andwhile I have shown therein a preferred embodiment, I wish it understoodthat the same is susceptible of modification and change withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention;

' Inthe drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section on a median plane of a lighterembodying the present invention, the lower part being shown inelevation.

Fig. 2 ls a transverse section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section similar to Fig. 1,

*but showing the upper portion of the casing in elevation and the coverin open position.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line 4--4 of Figfl, butshowing thelower edge of the cover and the upper portion of the casing in edgeelevation. v Y l Y Fig.'5 is an enlarged fragmentary section on the line5-5 of Fig. 3.

' Fig.'6 is a section,of a reduced size, on the line '6e-6 of Fig. 5. YY Y v Fig. 7 is a fragmentary edge view, partly broken away,` of acylindrical flint member,v with a modified form of means for resilientlyurging the vabrasive member against the int wheel.

trative purposes in the drawings, my improved lighter comprises a maincasing I closed at the bottom 2 and having its normally open upper lendiclosedby a bridgemember 3 the marginal `anges 4 of which are slidablyinserted into the inside of the upper edges of the casing to be:frictionally but removably held in position there- :in. Swing-ablymounted upon the case i by a hinge membervS is a cover hood 6 of hollowconstruction and having its front edge, adjacent the `lower edge of thefront lip formed with an open- 1 ing 1. The cover hood 6 is normallyurged to .move into open position by means of a spring .having a lowerportion 8 and an upper portion 9 integrally connected together by anysuitable ,number of loops i0. This spring member 8-.40

wardly within the cover and held in place behind A the keeper I2. Thisspring may be of any detailed construction desired such asspringwire, aflat spring, or the like.

Fixed at its lower end to the inside surface of the casing I is aresilient arm I3 slightly bent inwardly at I4 and I5, and having xed-atits upper end an outwardly extending projection or detent I5. Fixedintermediate of the length of'v arm I5 is a push button I'I slidable ina hole I8 lformed in an adjacent portion of the casing l. The materialof the casing around the opening I8 is formed with a depression I9, andthe outer end of the button II is curved atv 2D' so that the button willnot extend any great distance outwardly, and will thus preventaccidental opening of the cover. Also formed in the flange 4 of thebridge member 3 is an opening 2l through which the projection or detentI6 also slidably extends. Hole l of the cover and hole 2I of the bridgeflange are is registry when the cover is closed, and at this time thedetent or projection I8 extends through hole 2f and a slight distanceinto opening 1 under urge of the resilient arm I3. Y

ymember 3 from the. upperend of the casing the button 2D may be pushed afarther extentinwardly to free the projection I6 from hole ZI in 4thebridge flange after whichthe bridge 3 maybe pulled upwardly out of theupper end of the cas- -ing. When the cover isclo'sed the integral stripof metal 22 below opening I will form a stop for thev outer edge ofprojection I6. d

Bridge member 3 in its central portion isformed with an opening 23within which is removably positioned the neck 24 of a fuel container,tube,

.for rcartridge 25 adapted to contain any desired 4kind of fuel, liquidor paste, and within which tube or container is positioned a lwick. 26extend- .ing from the bottom of the: tubev or container upwardly and ashort distance outwardly through the central hole 2l formed in neck 24.Neck 24 is formed around its outside with a circumfer ential groove 28,the lower'horizontal edge of which groove is in substantial alignmentwith the upper surface of bridge member 3.

An exhausted fuel tube or container may be easily removed from thecasing by removing the 'bridge 3 from the casing in the manner describedtabove, and then removing the sparking mecha.-

nism base plate 29 from 'engagement with neck '24. As seen in Fig. 2Athe right hand end of base plate 29 is formed with a slot 30 of a depthto en- -`able this slotted end to be pushed. to therig-ht overthe neck24 so that the edges of sai'di'slot are seated inthe circumferentialgroovey `29 of the neck. Bridge 3 at the left hand ondas viewed in Fig.1 is formed with an upturn'ed cut'f-o'ut por'- A'tion 3I slightly curvedinwardly a si'ilc'zin't''dsl tance to receive the rear end 32 of plate29 after the edges of slot 3D have been pushed into position over theneck and the rear end of this plate pushed downwardly to be seatedwithin the slightly re-entrant surface of projection 3|. This securelylocks the neck of the tube or container, and the tube or container, inposition within the casing until exhausted after which it may be removedand a new one substituted in the mannerfdesnibed above.

Plate 29 forms the bottom or base of a sparkv-ing mechanism unitdesignated generally at 33 and comprising a pair of laterally spacedapart upstanding sidewalls 34 and 35 integrally connected at; theirlower ends to the base plate 29.

.This forms a supporting bracket between and -through which extends ahollow rivet or other suitable supporting: member 3S which is rivetedover at its ends as shown at 31 so as to be fixed in position betweenthe bracket walls 34 and 35. The lower edge portion of side wall 34 ofthe supporting bracket is outwardly bulged at 38 to afford a wider basefor stability. Rotatablyl mounted upon the outside surface of thecylindrical hollow rivet 36 is a sleeve member 39 having iixedly mountedupon the exterior of one of its ends the cylindrical sleeve 40 formed ofany suitable flint material wel-l known in the lighter industry. As iswell known this fl-intfmaterial when vigorously rubbed with anabrasivematerial will create a shower of sparks. Also mounted on sleeve member39 in slightly longitudinally spaced relation to nint member 49 is atoothed gear wheel 4I which i's mounted upon sleeve member 39 with anoverrunning clutch connection which in one direction of rotationclutches the sleeve member 39 to ro'- 'tate the same and the' flintsleeve 49, and in the other direction of rotation runs free of saidsleeve member 39;

This over-running clutch construction will be understood in Figs'. l, 5,and 6, in which the sleeve member 39 is formed at its right hand end asviewed in Fig. E with circumferentially spaced apart notches or eut awayportions 42 which as 'seen in Fig. d are triangularA in cross section soas to provide a long sidel 43 andl a short side 44. Mounted in each ofthesecut away portions is a ball 45 of a size such that when the gear 4Irotates in a counterclo'ckwise direction as viewed in Figs; 1 and 6 eachof the balls 45 will be forced to roll along the side 43 of theout-awayv portion which side together with the 'inner circumference ofthe central opening' in the gear forms a space decreasing in height.This causes the balls 45 to grip the gear '4l tor the sleeven'ember 39to carry these parts together when the gear rotates during opening ofthe cover 6.. This rotation of sleeve member 39 carries with it theiiiiit sleeve 40 and causes the latter torub against theA abrasivemember 45 and creates a shower of sparks directed toward the upper end411 of the wick 23. This wick being saturated with 'fuel willimmediately ignite for lighting purposes.

The abrasive member 46 is fixedy in any de- 'outfroir'r said base plate,or otherwise formed lasl desired. From this it is seen' that the U'-fshaped resilient arrn48 maybev removed from the base plate by pullingthe lower portionww out of the pocket under strap 50 for repairs, oranew one inserted if desired. In Fig. 'l this U-shaped arm is shown at 48as being formed at its free end with an upwardly bent portion 5l toscrape against the circumference of the int sleeve for sparkingpurposes. In Fig. 8 this U-shaped resilient arm is shown at 418" ashaving a similar projection 5I' except that instead of this projectionbeing open, the two sides thereof are forced together so that itsupperfedge will scrape against the iint sleeve. In Fig. 9 this U-shapedmember is shown at 48 as formed at its free end with an upstandingflange 52 to scrape against the fiint sleeve. As seen in Fig. 5 aspacing collar 53 is positioned between the ilintA sleeve 46 and thegear 4l to properly space these Yelements a desired distance apart. Alsoin Fig.l 5 it will be seen that the open end of the slots or openings 42are closely adjacent the inner surface of the bracket sideA wall 35 soas to prevent these balls from falling outv of these slots or openings,and conne them in operative position.

VAs seen in Figs. 1, 3 and 4 there is rigidly fixed in the cover or hood6 a driving element 54 having an upstanding portion 55 curved laterallyand downwardly at 56 and Welded or otherwise flxedly secured to theupper inner surface of the cover E. This driving element 54 is formed atits front portion with a circumferentially curved portion 51 to form anupstanding tubular portion spaced apart at the rear edges 58. One ofthese spaced apart portions 58 as viewed in Fig. 2 extends laterally andat its end is bent into a ange 59 which is welded or otherwise securedto the inner side surface of the cover 6. The opposite edge portion 58is extended laterally in the opposite direction and then rearwardly toform the toothed sector or quadrant 50, the teeth of which, when thecover is closed, engage with the teeth of the gear 4l. The toothedportion of the quadrant 60 is formed on the arc of a circle about theaxis ofthe hinge 5 as a center so that when the cover 6 is swung to openposition the teeth of quadrant Sil will, through engagement with theteeth of gear lil cause rotation of the flint sleeve to produce sparksfor lighting the wick when the cover is being swung to Lopen position.As seen in Fig. 3, the toothed quadrant 60 has moved a substantialdistance away from the gear M when the cover is completely open., Whenhowever the cover is again swung to closed position the teeth ofquadrant 65 will again engage the gear 4l but due to the overrunningclutch, described above, there will be no rotation of the flint sleeve,and no sparks produced during the closing of the cover.

Fixed within the tubular portion 51 of the driving member 54 is asnuiling tube 6I the upper portion of which is closed at 6 2 and thelower portion of which is formed with an outwardly flared skirt 63 whichwhen the cover is closed snugly ts over the curved upper surface of theneck 24 to snulf out the flame of the wick. As seen in Fig. 3 thissnufling cap 6| is moved away from the wick at the start of the openingmovement of the cover so as to leave the wick exposed for ignition bythe sparks.

The fuel tube or cartridge 25, as well as the sparking mechanism 33 as aunit, may each or both be obtainable at drug stores or other places ofsale, and may be quicklyy and easily applied to the lighter of thepresent invention when such renewals are required.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A lighter, comprising, a main casing, a cover hood swingably mountedon said casing, a bridge in one end of said casing, said bridge having afiat top and a central opening adapted to removably receive the neck ofa fuel tube, a

fiat base plate longitudinally slidable in face to face contact withsaid bridge and having in its forward end a slot adapted to slideforwardly over said tube neck when the latter is in said opening, saidbridge having a projection to prevent rearward movement of the .baseplate when the slot is over the neck, sparking mechanism on said baseplate including a rotary flint member and an ab-rasive elementresiiiently urged against the flint member, and means in said hood torotate the flint member when the hood is Yswung open, said fuel tubeneck having a circumferential groove to receive the edge walls of saidslot.

2. A lighter as claimed in claim l, in which said means includes atoothed quadrant member fixed in said hood, and a snumng cup iixedlymounted in said quadrant member, tne teeth of said quadrant engagingccmpieniental teeth on the rotary ilint member as the hood approachesclosed position and being removed a substantial distance away from saidcomplemental teeth when said hood is fully open.

3. In a lighter, a casing, a bridge, a base plate removably mounted onthe bridge, sparking mechanism carried by the base plate and including arotatable fiint member and a resilient arm removably` attached at oneend to the base plate and adjacent its free end having meansl tofrictionally engage the rotatable flint member, said bridge having anintermediate open-- ing, a fuel tube neck protruding through saidopening, means at one end of the plate for connecting it to said neck, adetent projection on the bridge at the other end of the plate, wherebysaid other end may rbe raised above said projection and the plate movedlongitudinally on the bridge to free said connection with the neck andremove the sparking mechanism and plate as a unit from the bridge.

4. In combination in a lighter, a casing, a bridge detachably secured inone end of the casing and having a central opening, a fuel tube in saidcasing and having a grooved neck removably positioned in said opening, aplate slidably mounted on said bridge and having a slotted endstraddling the tube neck with an edge of the slot seated in the grooveof the neck whereby the tube may be removed by sliding the plate torelease the neck, and sparking mechanism mounted on said plate to beremoved from the bridge with the plate as a unit when the plate isremoved from said neck by a sliding movement of the plate.

5. In combination in a lighter, a casing, a bridge having a marginalflange removably seated in one end of the casing, a cover swingablymounted on said casing, said cover and bridge iiange having aperturesthat register when the cover is closed, a resilient arm secured at oneend to the inside of the casing and having on its free end a projectionadapted to snap into said registering apertures, a button fixed to anintermediate portion of the length of said arm and being slidable in anopening in the casing, the outer face of the casing around said lastmentioned opening being depressed to enable the use of a short button toprevent accidental releasing of the cover and to enable said projectiorntoi bev moved inwardly' clear of: the aperture` in the: iiange forlremoval of the bridge from. the. casing, and sparking means on saidbridge.

6l.` In a lighter, a casing having an open end, a bridge having a at topformed with an intermediate opening and. a marginal flange removablyinserted in. the open end, of thecasing, a fuel. tank having a neck`adapted to extend through said opening... said nat top having anupstanding. projection. adjacent one end, a base plate having at onelendl an. edge portion adapted to seat under. a shoulder formed in said.neck, sparking mechanism mounted on said base plate andv including. arotatable cylindrical flint membei'. and ai resilient arm having an.abrasive ele ment,r said. base plate being longitudinally slidable on.the: top o the bridge,` whereby the base plate may be slidlongitudinally of the bridge to bring one end portion of the base plate:under the shoulder oi said neclc and. its opposite end pushed.downwardly behind said projection to rmly hold the sparking. mechanismand plate in` position, and when: desired the endl of the 8e base platebehindl the projection can be lifted. thereabove and the base plate slidrearwardly from the neck to remove the base plate. and sparkingmechanism from the bridge as a unit.

JOHN R. BAYSTON.

REFERENCES CITED Thel following references. are of recordl inthe l'e ofthisv patent:

